Libertarians Unhappy With Ballot Requirements

Illinois Libertarians say you should pay attention to ballot access. It's not a conspiracy; “it’s codified in state law,” says Lex Green. The Democrats and Republicans wrote the rules to benefit themselves, says the Libertarian Party of Illinois’ political director.

He says his people had to collect five times the signatures as the two established parties. “We feel the parties should manage their own business,” he said. His party is fighting the Illinois State Board of Elections, to no avail so far.

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The way the Board of Elections explains it is that state law requires political candidates and parties to show a “modicum of support” to get on the ballot; parties that got at least 5 percent of the vote in the previous election have a lower signature requirement, whereas those that cannot demonstrate support at the ballot box must show it through a higher signature-gathering requirement.

Lest you think the limited-government, full-freedom agenda sounds like the Republicans, Green reminds us it was a Republican-led Illinois which introduced a state income tax.